The committee will use life-course perspectives to gain a deeper understanding of middle and old age. Working directly with selected ongoing longitudinal and historical studies, it will aim toward elaboration and specification of the life-course perspective through direct confrontation with the findings from these studies. At the same time, it will contribute to the integration and fuller interpretation of the findings and possibly stimulate further research. Results of the committee's deliberations concerning these studies and of its continuing theoretical work in specifying the life-course perspective on middle and old age will be prepared as working papers and as a final report for circulation to a wide-range of scholars in order to elicit criticism, to stimulate interest, and to offer direction to the field. As part of its three-year agenda of activities, the committee -- using consultants as needed -- will convene brief Topical Meetings, longer Summer Seminars and Workshops, and a small International Conference. In addition, it contemplates providing Summer Training Workshops in the life-course perspective and its methods for pre- and/or postdoctoral students.